The present invention relates to a new recording and/or reproducing apparatus and a new recording medium cartridge holder. In particular, the present invention relates to a technique for realizing space saving of a recording and/or reproducing apparatus, and to a technique for preventing improper insertion of a recording medium cartridge, that is, insertion of a recording medium cartridge in an orientation other than a normal orientation in a recording medium cartridge holder with a simple mechanism.
In recording and/or reproducing apparatuses for recording and/or reproducing signals on and/or from a recording medium disk, it is required to provide a loading mechanism, that is, a mechanism for withdrawing the recording medium disk to a specific position in an apparatus main body and mounting the recording medium disk to a specific mounting position, and also to provide a mode formation mechanism, that is, a mechanism for bringing each of members into a specific state suitable for a reproducing or recording mode.
In related art recording and/or reproducing apparatuses, the above-described loading mechanism and mode formation mechanism have been provided at separate locations, particularly, as viewed from above, as individual mechanisms. Accordingly, there has arisen a problem that since these mechanisms are disposed at respective spaces, it is required to ensure a large space for these mechanisms in the apparatus.
On the other hand, there has been known a recording medium cartridge configured such that a recording medium is contained in a flat cartridge case formed into a rectangular shape having a long-side and short-side as viewed from above, wherein the recording medium cartridge is inserted with its long-side portion directed forwardly in the insertion direction.
In a recording and/or reproducing apparatus using the above-described recording medium cartridge, it is required to prevent the insertion of the recording medium cartridge in an orientation other than a normal orientation, that is, improper insertion of the recording medium cartridge in a recording medium cartridge holding portion for holding the recording medium cartridge.
Various mechanisms have been proposed for preventing insertion of a recording medium cartridge in a cartridge holder of a recording and/or reproducing apparatus with the front and rear sides or the upper and lower sides erroneously reversed to each other; however, effective means for preventing insertion of a recording medium cartridge in a cartridge holder with a short-side portion thereof directed forwardly in the insertion direction have been little proposed, and the proposed means have presented problems in terms of complicated mechanism and poor usability.
A first object of the present invention is to provide a recording and/or reproducing apparatus capable of realizing space saving.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a recording and/or reproducing apparatus capable of certainly preventing a recording medium cartridge, in which a recording medium is contained in a flat cartridge case formed into a rectangular shape having a long-side and short-side as viewed from above, the recording medium cartridge being inserted into a recording medium cartridge holding portion with its long-side portion directed forwardly in the insertion direction, from being inserted in the recording medium cartridge holding portion in an orientation other than a normal orientation, with a simple structure.
To achieve the above first object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording and/or reproducing apparatus for recording and/or reproducing signals on and/or from a recording medium, including: recording and/or reproducing means for recording and/or reproducing signals on and/or from the recording medium; carrying means for carrying the recording medium; a first slider movable in one direction for moving the carrying means together with the recording medium up to a specific withdrawal position; and a second slider movable in a direction being substantially the same as the one direction for moving the recording medium carried by the carrying means to a recording and/or reproducing position corresponding to a position of the recording and/or reproducing means; wherein the first slider and the second slider are overlapped to each other in the vertical direction.
With this configuration, since the first slider mainly used for loading operation and the second slider mainly used for mode formation operation are overlapped to each other, it is possible to realize space saving, particularly, as seen from above.
The recording and/or reproducing means preferably includes a disk rotation drive mechanism for rotating a disk as the recording medium; and a signal recording and/or reproducing mechanism for recording and/or reproducing signals on and/or from the disk while being moved in the radial direction of the disk rotated by the disk rotation drive mechanism.
The first slider and the second slider are preferably driven by one motor.
With this configuration, it is possible to further enhance the space saving effect.
Preferably, the recording and/or reproducing means includes a magnetic head device for recording signals on the disk; and the second slider is further movable, after moving the disk to the recording and/or reproducing position, in the one direction for moving the magnetic head device to a position corresponding to a position of the disk mounted on the disk rotation drive mechanism.
With this configuration, it is possible to realize two different modes only by changing the movement amount of the second slider in the one direction, and hence to obtain a complicated function with a simple structure.
Preferably, the recording and/or reproducing apparatus further includes a disk holder having the carrying means; wherein the disk holder includes a main supporting member for movably supporting the carrying means, the main supporting member being movable in the direction perpendicular to a main body of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus; and the main supporting member is moved from the upper end to the lower end of a movement range thereof by movement of the second slider from the initial position to a specific position, to mount the disk supported by the carrying means on the disk rotation drive mechanism.
With this configuration, it is possible to make the movement space of the disk holder smaller than that of a related art disk holder turned to mount/dismount a recording medium disk on/from a disk rotation drive mechanism, and hence to reduce a space, particularly, in the height direction, of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus of the present invention.
Preferably, each of the first slider and the second slider has rack teeth meshed with a pinion gear rotated by the one motor; until the recording medium is withdrawn from the initial position to the specific withdrawal position, only the rack teeth of the first slider are meshed with the pinion gear and only the first slider is moved by rotation of the pinion gear; at the final stage of the movement of the first slider, the second slider is pushed by the first slider to be moved in the one direction, whereby the rack teeth of the second slider are meshed with the pinion gear and the rack teeth of the first slider are removed from the pinion gear; and only the second slider is moved in the one direction by further rotation of the pinion gear.
With this configuration, it is possible to move the two sliders in sequence at any time with a simple mechanism, and hence to enhance the space saving effect.
To achieve the above second object, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording and/or reproducing apparatus including: a recording medium cartridge holding portion in which a recording medium cartridge, configured such that a recording medium is contained in a flat cartridge case formed into a rectangular shape having a long-side and short-side, is inserted with its long-side portion directed forwardly in the insertion direction. The recording medium cartridge holding portion includes a main support portion; a carrying portion, supported on the main support portion in such a manner as to be movable from a standby position to a specific withdrawal position, for withdrawing the recording medium cartridge held at the standby position to the specific withdrawal position; a lock portion for locking the carrying portion at the standby position; and an insertion restricting portion for prohibiting the passing of the recording medium cartridge inserted in an orientation other than a normal orientation; wherein the lock portion releases the locking of the carrying portion by the recording medium cartridge passing through the insertion restricting portion.
With this configuration, since the lock of the carrying portion cannot be released unless the recording medium cartridge passes through the insertion restricting portion. Accordingly, in the case of insertion of the recording medium cartridge with its long-side portion directed forwardly in the insertion direction, since the recording medium cartridge cannot pass through the insertion restricting portion unless the cartridge is in a normal orientation, the improper insertion of the recording medium cartridge can be certainly prevented. In the case of insertion of the recording medium cartridge with its short-side portion directed forwardly in the insertion direction, even if the cartridge is inserted to a position deeper than a position at which the insertion restricting portion is formed while bypassing the insertion restricting portion, since the cartridge does not pass through the insertion restricting portion, the locking of the carrying portion cannot be released, with a result that the insertion of the cartridge can be certainly prevented. Further, such a structure can be simply realized only by disposing the lock portion at the position at which the locking by the lock portion is released by the recording medium cartridge passing through the insertion restricting portion.
Preferably, the carrying portion includes a turning lever turned between a first position and a second position; and the turning lever is turned from the first position to the second position by the recording medium cartridge passing through the insertion restricting portion, to release the locking of the carrying portion to the main support portion.
With this configuration, it is possible to carry the recording medium cartridge to the specific withdrawal position while certainly holding it by the carrying portion.
Preferably, the turning lever includes a first arm portion to be engaged to a bent portion of a guide groove formed in the main support portion; a second arm portion to be engaged in a hole portion formed in the main support portion; and a third arm portion provided at a position at which the third arm portion crosses the first arm portion and the second arm portion at approximately right angles; wherein when the third arm portion is turned by the contact thereof with the recording medium cartridge passing through the insertion restricting portion, the engagement of the first arm portion in the bent portion is released and the first arm portion is engaged in a sliding groove provided in such a manner as to be continuous to the bent portion and to be substantially in parallel to the movement direction of the carrying portion, and also the engagement of the second arm portion in the hole portion is released and the second arm portion is engaged with the recording medium cartridge, whereby the locking of the carrying portion at the standby position is released; and the carrying portion is allowed to carry the recording medium cartridge from the standby position to the withdrawal position.
With this configuration, since the carrying portion is not pushed by the recording medium cartridge until the carrying portion holds the recording medium cartridge, it is possible to certainly hold the recording medium cartridge on the carrying portion.